2,394 research outputs found
Simulations of Galactic Cosmic Rays Impacts on the Herschel/PACS Photoconductor Arrays with Geant4 Code
We present results of simulations performed with the Geant4 software code of
the effects of Galactic Cosmic Ray impacts on the photoconductor arrays of the
PACS instrument. This instrument is part of the ESA-Herschel payload, which
will be launched in late 2007 and will operate at the Lagrangian L2 point of
the Sun-Earth system. Both the Satellite plus the cryostat (the shield) and the
detector act as source of secondary events, affecting the detector performance.
Secondary event rates originated within the detector and from the shield are of
comparable intensity. The impacts deposit energy on each photoconductor pixel
but do not affect the behaviour of nearby pixels. These latter are hit with a
probability always lower than 7%. The energy deposited produces a spike which
can be hundreds times larger than the noise. We then compare our simulations
with proton irradiation tests carried out for one of the detector modules and
follow the detector behaviour under 'real' conditions.Comment: paper submitted to Experimental Astronomy in March 200
Renewable sources urban cells microgrid. A case study
Nowadays, microgrid technologies play a relevant role in the research field as well as in the commercial market. The opportunity to provide electricity in wide areas without using centralized electrical infrastructure networks is a reliable key for achieving the European Union sustainability goals. In this regard, the proposed research aims at describing an electric microgrid configuration powered by a photovoltaic system, supplying three school buildings located in the center of Italy. Additionally, the resilience theme is deeply investigated, analyzing the use of an emergency generator system (EGS) in case of electric grid blackouts. MATLAB/Simulink was chosen to simulate the users’ energy demand as well as to calculate the microgrid performance. Results show that almost the total consumption of the microgrid is covered by the photovoltaic system, and the use of an EGS allows energy resilience and moderate economic savings for the communit
Automated Generation of Executable RPA Scripts from User Interface Logs
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) operates on the user interface (UI) of software applications and automates - by means of a software (SW) robot - mouse and keyboard interactions to remove intensive routine tasks (or simply routines). With the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence, the automation of routines is expected to undergo a radical transformation. Nonetheless, to date, the RPA tools available in the market are not able to automatically learn to automate such routines, thus requiring the support of skilled human experts that observe and interpret how routines are executed on the UIs of the applications. Being the current practice time-consuming and error-prone, in this paper we present SmartRPA, a cross-platform tool that tackles such issues by exploiting UI logs to automatically generate executable RPA scripts that automate the routines enactment by SW robots
Improved Fast Neutron Spectroscopy via Detector Segmentation
Organic scintillators are widely used for fast neutron detection and
spectroscopy. Several effects complicate the interpretation of results from
detectors based upon these materials. First, fast neutrons will often leave a
detector before depositing all of their energy within it. Second, fast neutrons
will typically scatter several times within a detector, and there is a
non-proportional relationship between the energy of, and the scintillation
light produced by, each individual scatter; therefore, there is not a
deterministic relationship between the scintillation light observed and the
neutron energy deposited. Here we demonstrate a hardware technique for reducing
both of these effects. Use of a segmented detector allows for the
event-by-event correction of the light yield non-proportionality and for the
preferential selection of events with near-complete energy deposition, since
these will typically have high segment multiplicities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in
Physics Research Section
The application of Geant4 simulation code for brachytherapy treatment
Brachytherapy is a radiotherapeutic modality that makes use of radionuclides to deliver a high radiation dose to a well-defined volume while sparing surrounding healthy structures. At the National Institute for Cancer Research of Genova a High Dose Rate remote afterloading system provides Ir(192) endocavitary brachytherapy treatments. We studied the possibility to use the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit in brachytherapy for calculation of complex physical parameters, not directly available by experiment al measurements, used in treatment planning dose deposition models
A mobile antineutrino detector with plastic scintillators
We propose a new type segmented antineutrino detector made of plastic
scintillators for the nuclear safeguard application. A small prototype was
built and tested to measure background events. A satisfactory unmanned field
operation of the detector system was demonstrated. Besides, a detailed Monte
Carlo simulation code was developed to estimate the antineutrino detection
efficiency of the detector.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments
and Methods in Physics Research
A practical algorithmic approach to mature aggressive B cell lymphoma diagnosis in the double/triple hit era. Selecting cases, matching clinical benefit. A position paper from the Italian Group of Haematopathology (G.I.E.)
An accurate diagnosis of clinically distinct subgroups of aggressive mature B cell lymphomas is crucial for the choice of proper treatment. Presently, precise recognition of these disorders relies on the combination of morphological, immunophenotypical, and cytogenetic/molecular features. The diagnostic workup in such situations implies the application of costly and time-consuming analyses, which are not always required, since an intensified treatment option is reasonably reserved to fit patients. The Italian Group of Haematopathology proposes herein a practical algorithm for the diagnosis of aggressive mature B cell lymphomas based on a stepwise approach, aimed to select cases deserving molecular analysis, in order to optimize time and resources still assuring the optimal management for any patient
Methodology framework for prioritisation of renewable energy sources in port areas
Ports play a crucial role in increasing the decarbonisation of urban environments to mitigate the environmental impacts of maritime transport and promote sustainable intermodal mobility. Various efforts have been made to increase energy self-sufficiency using renewable energy sources (RESs) in different ports worldwide. However, the ports played an essential role in the pollution process of the nearest cities due to the short distance and merging with urban areas. In this case, solar and wind were measured using the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) data of four Lazio province ports. Each RES was evaluated using 10 years of monthly data for mapping and 1 year of hourly data for potential assessment and energy converters installation. Furthermore, the time series method has been considered to design and develop better management of RESs for decision making monitoring the energy needs of ports. This time series method has been applied to the generated energy source based on various parameters of the RESs used in port
Cognitive and linguistic abnormalities in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes
Aim: To assess the cognitive function and language ability in children with benign
partial epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.
Methods: Twenty-five patients with benign partial epilepsy with centrotemporal
spikes were included. They were divided into two subgroups. Group I: 10 patients with rolandic
focus who were not treated. Group II: 15 patients with rolandic focus receiving treatment.
A third Group of 12 healthy subjects have been studied. All children underwent
standardized neuropsychological testing: electroencephalogram recording, Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children-revised, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) and Boston
Naming Test (BNT), both during active disease (T1) and 2 years after recovery from epilepsy
(T2).
Results: At T1 evaluation, no significant differences in group I and II patients about
general intelligence, when compared with controls, were found. Group I and II patients
were impaired with respect to controls in the receptive and expressive vocabulary evaluated
with PCVT-III and BNT, respectively. At T2 evaluation, group I and II patients showed a normalization
of the language abnormalities.
Conclusion: Deficits of speech-related abilities can be detected in children with this type of epilepsy:
these dysfunctions seem to be independent of the effects of antiepileptic treatment and are
reversible after remission of epilepsy
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